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To cover the power supply, which is still needed after the above mentioned charger is bought; a very good reliable 12v 41a 492w power supply can be had for less than $15... you can up that to a 24v 41a 984w for about $20.

If you are interested, an iCharger 206B is capable of 20 amps and is available for $120ish.
An iCharger 3010B is capable of 30 amps and is available for $180ish.

So, to recap:
Power supply and above linked charger: $300
Power supply and a 206: $140-150
Power supply and two 206's: $260-280 <<Same amount of power as the 0720i
Power supply and a 3010: $200
Power supply and two 3010's: $380

If the LiPo's you are charging are usually at the same or similar voltage, you can go with a single high output charger and a ParaBoard and get the job done just as safely, just as fast, for about $100 less.

this is the charger i use and i have no complaints. iv had many chargers over the years and sometimes its better to go cheaper then spend alot on a charger then to have to spend another 300 on a power supply.

The Hyperion EOS 0720i Super Duo is a very good to excellent charger, one of the best true dual chargers. Like most high-end chargers it is DC-only and will need a power supply or big deep-cycle battery. If you plan on using it to it's full potential you'll need to make or have made a dual (two in series) server power supply or pay a couple/few hundred dollars for a purpose-built unit.

However, 3S packs will not require more than 252 Watts regardless of size and 2S packs will not require more than 168 Watts so the PSU need not be huge, at least to start out.

Is there a reason you want a true dual charger rather than charging packs in parallel? Hmm - you want to charge 4...parallel would be necessary but is never as good for your packs as charging one at a time.

Originally Posted by cris

this is the charger i use and i have no complaints. iv had many chargers over the years and sometimes its better to go cheaper then spend alot on a charger then to have to spend another 300 on a power supply.

The Hyperion EOS 0720i Super Duo is a very good to excellent charger, one of the best true dual chargers. Like most high-end chargers it is DC-only and will need a power supply or big deep-cycle battery. If you plan on using it to it's full potential you'll need to make or have made a dual (two in series) server power supply or pay a couple/few hundred dollars for a purpose-built unit.

However, 3S packs will not require more than 252 Watts regardless of size and 2S packs will not require more than 168 Watts so the PSU need not be huge, at least to start out.

Is there a reason you want a true dual charger rather than charging packs in parallel? Hmm - you want to charge 4...parallel would be necessary but is never as good for your packs as charging one at a time.

My opinion is only that, but I think the above items are exactly the wrong way to go about charging battery packs. I trust none of them.

My power supplies cost me more like $35 each @ 1068 Watts, but mine are prettier than jimmie's.

i havent had any issues at all. but then i dont charge alot of packs either. my last charger was a Great Planes ElectriFly Triton EQ. but i gave that to a friend cause he raced more then i did.

I am in the process of making a power supply myself as a lot of people here have. Like said above they can be had for reasonably cheap especially when compared to store bought supplies.

It's not as hard as I thought it would be, this coming from a total novice, with help from Jimmie. He has a couple good build threads on how to convert SPS for RC use. I suggest taking a look at them before dropping big bucks on a store bought model.

The important thing is (if you decide to make your own) to make sure you can trick them into turning on an producing power. Jimmie has done several models that he figured out how to get up and running. In addition to those I've found more on another forum.

Great replies, much appreciated! It appears I am still learning the trade.

The batteries I bought which I have not received yet are Lipo 8200's 2's, (7.4 Volt) not (3's) as 1st mentioned.
At this point I was considering the Hyperion EOS 0720i Super Duo Dual Li/NiMH/A123 Balancing Charger (7S/20A/500W) $279
but I also like the idea of having the power supply built in, check this out!http://www.rcaccessory.com/EVpq6AC.aspx. at $199

You are correct, the stock Summit is only capable of twin 2S batteries... but it uses them in series for 4S power.

The charger linked above looks to be (at least to me) 4 50watt battery cookers shoved into a single case... also a copy of another charger.

There is more than just a price difference between the more expensive chargers and the cheaper ones. Some are cheap for a reason... meaning they actually abuse the pack as they charge them; earning the label "battery cooker".

Okay, I've posted this once before but it nears repeating:
My closest LHS lost their garage/workshop and a hundred thousand dollars of hobby and other inventory a year ago due to the fire. Some blamed charging a LiPo unsafely, some blamed a faulty electrical outlet. It wasn't until a month or two ago that a second clone AC quad charger went up in flames while charging one LiPo pack and one NiMH pack that the real culprit was discovered. (FWIW, another clone quad had smoked upon first plugging it in.) I saw the second burned charger and the batteries that were unharmed. Both burned chargers had worked for a while.
Question: What good is it to be diligent and charge your packs in a LiPo Sack or an ammo box if it's your CHARGER that goes up in flames???

Great replies, much appreciated! It appears I am still learning the trade.

The batteries I bought which I have not received yet are Lipo 8200's 2's, (7.4 Volt) not (3's) as 1st mentioned.
At this point I was considering the Hyperion EOS 0720i Super Duo Dual Li/NiMH/A123 Balancing Charger (7S/20A/500W) $279
but I also like the idea of having the power supply built in, check this out!http://www.rcaccessory.com/EVpq6AC.aspx. at $199

Are stock Summits only capable of 2's (7.4) batteries?

Thanks
Broncojoe

Since you require dual pack charging capabilities I highly recommend purchasing two (2) Hyperion 720 Net AC/DC chargers. The amount of money you have noted will easily cover the purchase of both chargers and you will end up with a great dual pack charging system. Plus you will have a backup charger should one ever require maintenance or repair. You can find these chargers at a good price here: www.allerc.net

Okay, I've posted this once before but it nears repeating:
My closest LHS lost their garage/workshop and a hundred thousand dollars of hobby and other inventory a year ago due to the fire. Some blamed charging a LiPo unsafely, some blamed a faulty electrical outlet. It wasn't until a month or two ago that a second clone AC quad charger went up in flames while charging one LiPo pack and one NiMH pack that the real culprit was discovered. (FWIW, another clone quad had smoked upon first plugging it in.) I saw the second burned charger and the batteries that were unharmed. Both burned chargers had worked for a while.
Question: What good is it to be diligent and charge your packs in a LiPo Sack or an ammo box if it's your CHARGER that goes up in flames???

even the best chargers can burn up. iv had the best of the best and had them go up in smoke or
just stop working, or the buttons stop working.

I bought this one about 3 months ago at our local LHS and really like it so far. I needed one right away and was the only charger available in town so I said gimme, lol. May or may not be the best be does the job.

Great replies, much appreciated! It appears I am still learning the trade.

The batteries I bought which I have not received yet are Lipo 8200's 2's, (7.4 Volt) not (3's) as 1st mentioned.
At this point I was considering the Hyperion EOS 0720i Super Duo Dual Li/NiMH/A123 Balancing Charger (7S/20A/500W) $279
but I also like the idea of having the power supply built in, check this out!http://www.rcaccessory.com/EVpq6AC.aspx. at $199

I bought this one about 3 months ago at our local LHS and really like it so far. I needed one right away and was the only charger available in town so I said gimme, lol. May or may not be the best be does the job.

That is a clone of the spontaneously-combusting model I referenced above.

Originally Posted by cris

even the best chargers can burn up. iv had the best of the best and had them go up in smoke or
just stop working, or the buttons stop working.

Opinions are opinions, and in mine you are stretching a bit far here. I'd love to have a no-name, uncalibrated, low-power, potentially unsafe charger for a little less than a quality unit because...the buttons might stop working. Wouldn't anyone? I used my PL6 for at least two months before I even touched a button. I finally performed a charge without the use of a PC just because.

Oh yea, the discharge rate on the quad is a phenomenal 5W. LiPos need to be charged or discharged to storage level. How long will an 8K-class 2S LiPo take to discharge, especially if you don't get to use it? (Did I mention the PL6 has an internal discharge of 50W and can do a regenerative discharge to a deep cycle battery at up to 1000W?)
5 vs 50 or 1000.

IMO, if your willing to spend $300 on a charger setup your able to get pretty much the best so dont second guess yourself and cheap out at the last minute. You WILL regret it and end up spending the extra $$ later on. I fully agree with KSB on this. Cheap chargers are hard on your packs, will take longer to balance and will generally have less power. They are also of lesser quality (despite what the guys who have ONLY owned cheap chargers will tell you).

My setup has more than enough power to charger 4X2S 5000mah lipos at 2C all at the same time.

I trust guys who know what theyre talking about. One of those guys is Tom from SPC (Im pretty sure you have SPC batteries). He trusts the Powerlab chargers for his personal packs and has told me he feels its among the best of the best. You can pick one up from progressive RC for $175, get a converted PSU like what im running and others have suggested (I paid $50 shipped for mine. Its a 57amp, pre-converted with an added on/off switch and resistor on the cooling fan so its not so loud).
Total cost for charger and power supply $225. Then get (from progressive as well) a parallel charging board that will allow you to parallel charger up to 6 packs at one time. Total cost is going to be somewhere around $250... for the best of the best.

The PL6 can also be controlled entirely from your computer. It comes with a program that lets you adjust all the settings and monitor and log every aspect of the charge/discharge process. Its incredibly easy to use.

I personally charge 2X 8200mah 2S SPC lipos at 2C in parallel. This is a 33.6 amp charge and the PL6 with my single 57amp PSU does it without any problems at all. Just to test the PSU I also hooked up my Thunder Power TP610C and did a 10 amp charger on it at the same time as a 33.6 amp charge on the PL6 and the PSU just got warm to the touch. No problem.

Also keep in mind when considering charger capabilities. Charging packs at 1c takes about an hour. Charging packs at 2C takes about 30 minutes. So, if you can get into a setup that can charge 2 packs at 2C (like im doing) you can charge all 4 of your packs in exactly the same amount of time as using a charger than can do all 4 but only at 1C... I don't even use a paraboard. Just a 2S balance splitter and a parallel main splitter. This setup has NEVER let me down and has always balanced every cell to within .01 max...

The difference between a quality charge setup and a cheap one is astounding. Buy you already seem to understand that and seem willing to spend the money. But the difference between an extremely capable and powerful charge setup and one thats limited in some way is also astounding. The Hyperion you looked at first is great, but limited. Ive used a dual Icharger 206B setup in the past and it worked great but was far more bulky than I wanted and required more wiring than necessary. The PowerLab 6 is as capable as 2 Icharger 206B's in one package with better PC software for less money.

I have both. I have a Thunderpower TP610C AC/DC with a Parallel charging setup i keep in my radio case for when I travel, and I have my PL6 setup on my bench that does the majority of my charging. But, if I could only own one id have to ask myself whats more important... power and capability, or portability. If you really only ever charge at home get the most powerful one you can. But, if you really do travel alot an AC/DC charger is much more convenient.

Whow, what a wealth of information, enough to make your head spin!
I appreciate all the input, I am real close to making my decision. I was considering the 4010 Icharger, 2 station charging unitwith the capability of charging 40 amps per side. Super fast discharge for storage options and its brand new to the market
but I can't help but lean towards the PL6. I can buy to PL6 for the price of 1 4010 and that just don't make sense. With 2
PL6's I will always have a back up in case???.

I have 8 8200's coming from Tom so I would also like to parallel charge 4 batteries per charger.
Next is a power supply, that where thinks get tricky. Either you spend a lot or save a lot, and I like saving!
I am interested in a power supply from feathermerchantrc, please also guide me if this is the right direction. I purposely did not complete his address, I was told from a friend that its against the rules, please advise

There is nothing wrong with mentioning FeatherMerchantRC.com as the possible source of your power supply.
He basically converts retired or new (not sure) server power supplies and sells them ready to use. You can either buy from him or follow one of my step by step builds in the Traxxas Alley... you will end up with a similar product for less money if you do it yourself; but I can see the benefit of a prebuilt/preconverted unit if you do not know how to solder. The only thing is to make sure you get one big enough to power your charger!

Suggesting a HiTec X4 is going backwards... really far backwards. The chargers he is talking about can charge circles around the HiTec... 6 or even 12 at a time!

Haha. Thanks, guys. I LOVE pavementsurfers post of his setup! SO sexy! LOL. First I was checking out that Powerlab charger but I think its more than what I need. I'll probably only ever want to charge two batteries at once. I don't have as much time as I'd like to play with my toys So then I was looking at the icharger 106 and making my own power supply from an old computer I have in the garage...

I'm looking at the connectors on the batteries which are now in stock and I'm wondering if I should go for the Deans and switch my other ones over? Is it that big of a difference? I can solder, just not that great, hahaha, but I love doing stuff like that and I have the tools.

I have 2 sets of 3000 nmh batteries that came with our summits, still waiting for the lipos and not sure if this
applies to both types of batteries. Should I match the 2 best (highest) volt batteries as a set or should I have 1 lower
and one higher volt battery as a set.
Does anyone no if 1 side takes on more load then the other?

The voltage jumps around but it appears 10.72 (2 batteries) and 10.93 2nd set seems about average.
I am assuming the BEC side is the side that the ERC is on?
Would the far Black wire on the driver side take on more of the load?

The BEC side is usually the side with the red tag around the two wires. The way to tell is to hook up a battery and attempt to turn on the ESC. If it powers up for a second and then shuts down, that is the BEC side. The nonBEC side will do nothing.